In the Defence of Albus Dumbledore
by CanonDoesMatter
Summary: I wish to come to the defence of Albus Dumbledore who in Fanficton has often been portrayed as a cold hearted meddler without a concience. In this essay wish to prove to you that the image of Meddeling Evil Dumbleodre is not Canon.


After spending much time on Fanfiction net and other fanfiction sites, as well as talking to people in the fandom, I am surprised how many people believe that Dumbledore was a manipulative evil corrupt bastard. According to them he should be set equal to Voldemort,because of the decisions he made during the two wars. In this essay I wish to examine Dumbledore´s behavior and give possible reasons as to why he made the decisions that he did. Furthermore I would like to compare him to another famous mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi.

Firstly: It is my understanding that Dumbledore lied to Harry, because he thought that he was the most likely to be able to defeat Voldemort. He knows the prophecy has been set in motion and that Harry has a connection with Voldemort. He knows that Snape heard the prophecy, but he is not sure how much he heard. Therefore it is likely that either Neville´s or Harry´s family will be attacked and that one of the two boys could possibly be the downfall of Lord Voldemort, something that could bring en end top the war and a return of peace to the wizzarding world. Some fans point out that Dumbledore told Peter Pettegrew that he needed to betray the Potters so the Prophecy could be set in motion. Firstly I highly doubt that Dumbledore would do something so horrendous, realizing what the consequences would be. He like everyone else thought Sirius was the secret keeper until POA. It is my opinion that Dumbledore was just not the person to commit such a horrendous act. He learned from the mistakes he made as a teenager and still suffers from the scars these decisions brought with them.

There are some who insist that Harry existed only to be Dumbledores pawn. I have to honestly disagree. In HBP it is made clear that Dumbledore thinks very highly of Harry. This can clearly be seen when they leave the cave in HBP where Dumbleodre tells Harry that he feels safe, because he is with him. This shows his amount of trust and dependency on Harry. He is weak and trusts Harry to be strong and to get them to safety. Would someone who is cold and manipulative show such emotion? Voldemort for example shuts everyone out. He trust no one, even his own followers. He is cold, calculating and cruel. This is definitely not the picture I have of Dumbledore.

Secondly

Dumbledore send Harry to live with his relatives for two reasons:  
1. He wants to protect Harry from Voldemort. Dumbledore like Hagrid was sure that he was not fully vanquished, that he would return in time ( PS Hospital Wing )  
2. He wants Harry to have a normal childhood where he can live a normal life without everyone hero worshiping him for something he does not even remember. Look at what happened to Anakin Skywalker.

To be quite honest I do not agree with his decision. Know that it had to be a blood relative, but Dumbledore should have noticed the Dursley´s treatment of Harry.

Thirdly:

Why did he not tell Harry the Truth?  
I think that Dumbledore really did care about Harry and was trying to protect him. As well as groom him to be the hero that Dumbledore knew he could be. By the time Harry was fifteen and ready to accept the truth, the whole cauldron was ready to explode. Dumbledore being the noble Pratt that he is was not willing to burden Harry by the mistakes that he had made in his past, even if it meant putting Harry into danger. He did not tell Harry about the prophecy earlier so he would not place an unnecessary burden on him. (Anakin again) To overthrow the tyrant and to restore democracy sacrifices have to be made, even if some of them are not exactly easy. The greater Good.  
However Aberforths concerns about Albus are definitely valid, since Aberforth is Albus¨s brother and knows him best. I never said he was perfect. He was a human being and made mistakes that cost the lives of many and he is willing to place high stakes in oder to bring en end to the war which could eventually have engulfed all of Europe. He was a bit of a meddler, but his intentions were anything but malicious.

Thirdly:

Snape  
What the hell. Why would Harry need to know about Snape. The whole thing is ridiculous.  
Of cause Dumbledore trusted Snape, but it would be stupid to trust Snape with anything that was too close, if his loyalty ever faltered, or if his shields should not hold. In that case the carefully made plans would fail and Voldmort would win. Nevertheless, I still sometimes think, that Snape should have been informed about the fate Harry would play in the upcoming war especially considering his love for Lily. (I still think his relationship with Lily is rather creepy, but so is the whole Padme Anakin thing, I mean 14 and 8.)

Fourthly

A Lets compare this to Kenobi, shall we? He brought Luke to Tatooine and watched over him. He never thought him the Force. (Obviously because there were two kill happy Sith running around) Luke was raised by his aunt and uncle. His uncle was not exactly happy about Kenobi´s Presence. Owen never told him anything about his parents. (ANH)  
Ben lied to Luke about who his father was. He told him that his father was killed by a man called Darth Vader who was a former pupil of his before he turned to the Dark Side. Thus he used Lukes desire for a father figure and his drive for revenge as a catalyst to get rid of the Sith. It was also a way to make sure that Luke, who always dreamed of his real father, would not go looking for Vader. Two Skywalkers gone Sith is not something you want running around.

After Luke found out the truth about his father, Luke confronts Obi Wan. Obi Wan tells him, that he told Luke the Truth From a Certain Point of View. He also told him that he had to destroy his father and the Emperor in Order to bring the Galaxy back to Order. Did Kenobi lie to further his own goals, Of Cause. He is a kriffin liar, but no one makes him an evil incarnate. Why Dumbledore and not Kenobi, I honestly do not know.

Both men had seen what evil can do if it is left unchecked. Of cause their method's were sometimes more than questionable. Does that make them evil. No of cause not. They made mistakes and payed for them like any other human. I know they were sometimes manipulative and I do not excuse their actions but I do understand why they did what they did. Not out of malice or power lust, but to vanquish tyrants and to bring back democracy and order. I wonder what would have happened if Luke had never decided to become a jedi but went to the academy instead? (it is just impossible to imagine him as a moisture farmer.) How would the situation have played out? Maybe Luke would have joined the sith or he would have become a smuggler like Han Solo. Likewise Harry could have chosen not to fulfill the prophecy. He was given the choice, but chose not to back out. The mentors steered the heroes in the right direction, but they did not make the decisions for them.

I hope you can understand why I can not accept Dumbledore as an evil manipulative Voldemort incarnate. Even though his intentions were not always pure as white snow, I like the character. I like him because he makes mistakes and because he falls down and gets up and learns from his mistakes. I like him because he is not perfect, because that would dehumanize him in my eyes. How does the Jedi Saying go *We are not Saints but Seekers* I do not agree with some of the decisions he made because in order to save some he sacrificed others.

In the first few books we got to see a man who was kind and always smiling. He was weird and he always knew the answer to all problems. We saw a man who was a both the prejudice against muggleborns and muggles that many wizzard exhibited. As the books went on the facade cracked and we saw a man who was emotionally torn and who had made many mistakes during his life, but he never gave up but kept on fighting no matter how painfully it got. I admire Dumbledore for this.

Something has changed in mind of some fans, His views on muggleborns have not changed, nor has his attitude toward his students, but what has? We have found out more about this man; about his past and about the reasons behind his actions. This might explain his fall from grace in the eyes of many fans. I for one am willing to embrace this new Dumbledore with all his dodgyness and his shades of gray.

I am sorry I ranted like that. It kind of evolved in my mind and my hands were forced to write it down. I just wanted to show that the character while a bit manipulative was not an evil men, but a men who like all of us is human and makes mistakes.

May the Force be With you all

Frodo_harry


End file.
